Iconic Olympic ski jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards has opened up on his disappointment after ITV cancelled a show he was set to front. The 62-year-old father of two first to public prominence in 1988 when he entered the Calgary Winter Olympics as the UK's first ski jumper and quickly became the country's favourite underdog. He has built an impressive career for this and speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk he revealed he had been approached about the exciting series after he won the celebrity reality diving show Splash in 2013.

"When I did Splash ITV asked me if I would go around the world doing a TV show, cliff diving at all the sites around the world," he smiled speaking over Zoom. "That would have been brilliant but they couldn't get the insurance for it, so they had to can it. And I was really gutted about that. That would have been amazing," he reflected.

This isn't the only thing he was approached about over the years that didn't happen. He confirmed: "There have been lots of exciting projects that have been presented to me, that I would have loved to have done, but they just fall apart usually for reasons like insurance or health and safety.

"I did miss out on doing some really, really exciting stuff, just because of logistics," he said. "But I've never refused a job so I can't say that I have any regrets of not taking on something."

Eddie has enjoyed a long and varied career in the almost 40 years since he took to the slopes representing the UK. Alongside reality TV appearances, he has penned books, is in demand as public speaker, appeared in advertising campaigns and even been a sports commentator. With so many strings to his bow it begs the question of how he describes his work when he meets people. Laughing he acknowledges this takes a bit of thought.

"It depends on who asks me and where I am really. I guess I say I do PR - public relations. That's all I can say, really because my work is so varied. One minute I'm doing a bit of plastering - I'm renovating a house at the moment for me and my partner to move in, so I'm doing a lot of building work. But then in between that I've got to go down to London to do a talk at a conference, and then Edinburgh, speaking at a conference up there, and then I'm in Birmingham, speaking at a conference, then Worcester, and then I'm back to plastering again.

"And so it's, it's all different, really, but that's what I love about it. I never know from one day to the next, one week to the next where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing and I like that.

"I think it would be really tough for me to get a 9-5 job going to the same place, day in, day out for years. That wouldn't have been for me. And I've loved it. I feel I've never worked a day in my life. I've loved everything that I've done," he grinned.

The next adventure he will undertake is an appearance on TUI’s UK cruise line Marella Cruises 30^th Birthday sailings in May 2026. Eddie is just one of the big names booked to mark the occasion alongside the likes of British singer-songwriters, Pixie Lott and Lemar and live performances from Fleur East, Boyzlife and La Voix.

Explaining what people can expect from his talk he says: "I just discuss my life really, I was Britain's first and last Olympic ski jumper. I show video clips... It's just funny stories about how I got to Calgary and after Calgary and during Calgary. And so I keep it as entertaining as possible, but at the same time telling my life as as Britain's first ever ski jumper."

Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards will appear as part of the seven-night 30^th Birthday celebration cruises across the fleet of Marella Cruises ships from May 1st 2026 onwards. More information and booking details are available here.